Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake

[Hans von Goeben]

Surprised by the sudden change from friendliness to commanding in his voice, Hans squinted his eyes, and replied by nodding quickly.

This guy was clearly not here for a small talk. Also, the way the guest had reacted while the scientist was proudly telling him the results of weeks, Hans noticed his disinterest. This Hispanic seems only to be interested in the creatures...and not Hans suffering down here.

"Swellhead", Hans thought.

Goeben stood up and slides through the tent entrance into the daylight.
"They are kept in special containers right next to the tent, Mister.",
and points at two metallic, fridge-sized boxes.

Both men stood in front of the first container. Hans typed in a password on a pad which was integrated into the container's surface. With a quiet "swoosh", the front turned from silvery-metallic into transparent.

Hans turned around to the man who was looking at the creature in front of him.
A small smile appeared on his face. "May I present you the first candidate, Otousan?...", and was looking now himself at the creature,

"...the amphibious animal you were looking for!"



The strange creature crawled around on the sandy bottom of the box. It nearly did not leave any marks on the ground while doing so in front of the duo.

"This one was found close to a beach about one mile from here, in an isolated bay.
I actually wanted to test the Deep Sea Exploration Bot there, but before doing so, I noticed one of these crawling out of the ocean when the sun began to set.
Five minutes later, hundreds of others followed this one to get warmth from the hot sand and stones at the beach.
Five days later, I tested it after analysing animals from around this glade..."

Hans made a presenting gesture pointing directly at the animal.

"...and voila: Highly reactive to Liquid Cardamine. Injecting it makes it glow...must be activating bioluminesence. And...some additional tentacles grew...symmetrically, of course."

Hans takes a breath and looks at the audience.

"Further questions about this being?"

[Cipriano Adimari]

As Hans wrapped up his presentation of the specimen, Cipriano squatted down on the ground in front of the transparent container. He put his face as closely to the transparent surface as possibly to look at the wondrous creature.

Cipriano's tone finally hinted at a degree of enthusiasm as he spoke to Hans, still eyeing the small animal.

"Most impressive, von Goeben."

The Outcast then slowly stood up and turned to face the scientist.

"My associates - and Father, in particular - will be pleased with this result, Hans."

He placed the palm of his left hand on the container holding the creature.

"I trust you will understand that Father will want to personally inspect this specimen."

"But first-"

Removing his hand from the container, he took a step toward the second container.

"-I am rather curious what else you have managed to dig up. Certainly, you are anxious to present further successes."

[Hans von Goeben]

Finally! Some appreciation for his hard work down here, at least. After all those days and weeks without even hearing from his employers. Nothing is more satisfying for a freelancing scientist like Hans than being praised for his work...not that he gets praised oftenly as well...

Hans smiled brightly as he saw the Outcast's interest. If it is not for his suffering down here, it was for Goeben's work. He seemed to have forgotten what "presenting The Father" means for him, but it was the happiness of the moment which actually drowned this thought.

"I am more than glad that my work is acceptable...",
Hans replied and made a bow,
"...and indeed eager to show you another example of this research mission."

He pressed a botton on the pad and the front of the container was sealed again, save and sound for the test subject. Being all smiles, Hans turned to the box right next to the first one and repeated the procedure from earlier.



As this container opened, a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth is hammering against the transparent front. A pale, nearly white, big something was raging in there. It has a bizarre shape, and on a second look, small extremities which look like rags.

Hans takes a small step backwards and nods in this creature's direction.

"This beauty here is from the deep sea!",
Goeben says proudly after letting this surprise attack having its effect on both of them,
"I have already mentioned a Deep Sea Exploration Bot. This fella was caught by it. As a result, the bot is not operational anymore, but it was worth the trouble. She lives in a depth of approximatly 3000 feet and was found next to a black smoker.",

Hans takes a step forward again toward this beast

"The application of normal cardamine into the water made her extremly aggressive, even biting her extremities. Liquid Cardamine has a simliar effect, only without the hurting herself. The fish is more coordinated in its aggressivness."

Hans tipped against the glassy front to demonstrate its aggressiveness: It instantly bumps against the spot Goeben's finger was located and opened its jaw a couple of times rapidly.

"This reminds me of my drill sergeant during my military draft in the Rheinwehr...", he jokes around and looks at the other man.